Smithfield, Rhode Island is just a microcosm for the smallest state. In this scaled down Rhode Island, for 16 years lived a boy and his family. That boy was me, Sam Tubman, and here is my story. In the fall of 1999, my family and I moved from the distant North Providence to our little slice of paradise in Smithfield. Growing up in Smithfield is a lot like keeping one eye shut to the world and the other is focused on the ground in front of you. It’s very hard to pay any attention to the outside because the town is just big enough to occupy one’s attention, but small enough where it’s not well connected to the outside world. I spent most of my time thinking about sports and school, and in a way that helped me succeed in my small life because I had little distractions. On the other hand I feel my town failed me by not putting a larger perspective in my mind. It wasn’t until high school that I had any idea about what was going on in the world. I started to watch the news frequently and found myself interested in late night news talk shows such as the Colbert Report and The Daily Show (rip). It was also at this time that I first started watching soccer, a sport that I had played my whole life. My favorite team is Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League. I also very much enjoy the US Men’s National Team. It is one of the only times that I can feel my patriotism take over, and in Smithfield, it’s hard to think about the country as a whole. I grew up in Smithfield and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.